


Stellae

by LadyBlack3



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Grief/Mourning, Healing, Loss, Post-War, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:48:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24301630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyBlack3/pseuds/LadyBlack3
Summary: Ever since Kingsley could remember, his life has been ruled by the stars. Follow his journey navigating the war, caring for the stars and constellations in his life, and his hope for finding peace and love after the war.
Relationships: Kingsley Shacklebolt/Andromeda Black Tonks, Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19
Collections: Astronomy: 2020 Round Three





	Stellae

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [TheSlytherinCabal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSlytherinCabal/pseuds/TheSlytherinCabal) in the [DBQ2020Round3](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/DBQ2020Round3) collection. 



> Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me but are the property of J.K.R. and Warner Bros. No copyright infringement is intended. The theme for this round of the competition was Astronomy and my chosen pairing was Andromeda Black Tonks/Kingsley Shacklebolt. Comments/Reviews are encouraged by The Slytherin Cabal's Admin Team on all stories in Death By Quill, but comments left by readers are set to be moderated by story authors until the end of the competition in order to protect participants' anonymity.

**March 1998**

He just finished writing the final itinerary for the next day before sensing a gaze on him. The petite blond stood in his doorway, poised to knock nervously. 

“What is it Alethea?” he asked and set his pen down, waiting to hear what she had to say.

“The evening mail, sir,” she stepped closer and held up the silver tray for him. 

He picked up the three letters and immediately noticed one was specifically addressed for him.“Thank you, that will be all for today. Here is a copy of the itinerary and I will be with the PM by seven in the morning once I do the rounds,” he promised.

When she seemed to hesitate, he paused and set the letters down, calmly lacing his fingers on the desk. “Is something the matter?” he asked a bit differently, seeing how nervous she was. He wondered what could possibly be making her this nervous. It couldn’t be his magic, he has been extremely careful to only use it with wards up and behind closed doors of his office.

She shook her head before seemingly finding her composure. “It’s just been a bit of a day. Want to grab a drink?” she offered nonchalantly. Perhaps a little too nonchalantly for it to be a friendly invitation.

Ah. He offered a regretful smile. “Unfortunately I won’t be able to join you tonight, one of my friends is celebrating their birthday and I have a dinner to make, but perhaps another day,” he said politely, hoping it would be enough for the young receptionist. 

She seemed appeased and wished him a good night before heading off. Once the door was closed, he raised the wards and rubbed his face tiredly, knowing he would have to let that one down very gently. He couldn’t afford a discord at this workplace but he wasn’t about to put anyone in danger by associating with them intimately in the middle of the war, especially a muggle. His heart was taken already anyway.

He reached for his letter opener to get to the message from Remus, recognising his penmanship straight away. There was only a single sheet of paper with several short lines of letters and numbers:

_291/ N16 stable_

_279/ N06 succesful 281/N46_

_127 / N27 increased_

There were many different codes the Order used to communicate messages with each other, many reliant on magic. Between Kingsley and Remus though, there was no need for using magic when they could communicate through their shared knowledge of the night sky and astronomical etymology. They’ve been on many a mission together over the past three years and whenever they needed to find their way or track a Death Eater, the night was their cover and the night sky their map and compass.

He pulled out the table of navigational stars from a hidden pocked in his suit jacket and laid it out to decode the messages. It wasn’t exactly sophisticated but the first number indicated the sidereal hour angle, or the angular distance west of the equinox, and the second part of the code the angular distance North of the celestial equator. This would give him the name of the navigational star and their constellation, and a code for their enemies. 

He went down the list until he spotted the first one, the Aldebaran star of the Taurus constellation. Its common name was the Follower of the Pleiads, and their codename for non other than the current Headmaster of Hogwarts. Snape was stable and not making any moves. Good, there were only a few places where the upcoming war could come to a head, and they’ve been predicting for some time that it wouldn’t be the Ministry but rather Hogwarts, which Voldemort was obsessed with.

He moved onto the second one, easily identifying Bellatrix from the Orion, the female warrior of Voldemort’s army, and followed the list down to the second code which revealed Capella of the Auriga constellation, commonly known as the ‘little she goat’. Bellatrix successfully gave birth to a female child, giving Voldemort a successor. He shuddered at the legacy that poor child would carry if it survived the next leg of the war. This must have been particularly difficult news for Remus who was very close to being a father himself with Dora coming up to 34 weeks. It was almost ironic that both the Order and the Death Eaters should welcome a descendent at this time. 

He focused on the last one and found the coordinates for the Alphecca, a star of the Corona Borealis or the crown given to Ariadne. It was otherwise known as ‘the feeble one’ and it was their codename for none other than Pius Thicknesse. According to this message, the Minister was stepping up the anti-muggleborn measures and increasing security at the Ministry. This meant they will have to keep a closer eye on some of their members on the run from persecution to keep them safe.

He opened the window, glad for the cool evening breeze and lit a cigarette, exhaling the acrid smoke as he calmly watched the note burn in the ashtray. If he was correct, they only had weeks before the end of this war. Everything was pointing to a large confrontation; the Ministry and their regrouping, the recruitment of more snatchers and the lull in unnecessary raids that depleted Death Eater numbers. They were all regrouping, and soon they will all clash. 

* * *

“I lost the trail,” Remus’ frustration was palpable as he sniffed deeply, trying to catch Ted’s scent. 

Ted Tonks has been on the run for several weeks now, with clues leading up to the Lake District. Andromeda knew he would avoid Wales, not wanting to bring death upon anyone who would recognise him and his family name there. They headed North instead and were sure he was somewhere nearby.

“We’ll find him,” Kingsley reassured calmly as he checked their compass and looked up to make sure they were still heading North-west. “We’re heading in the right direction. Oxenholm is down there, and we are not far from Helvellyn,” he confirmed. 

“Let’s switch to North-East, I can’t smell anything this way,” he suggested and after confirmation of their coordinates, they headed left to cut though a sparsely arbored area.

They walked for a couple of hours, the waxing moon high in the sky, the proximity to the full moon enhancing Remus’ senses to their advantage.

“Stop,” he suddenly grabbed onto Kingsley and held him still as he inhaled deeply. “Down that side,” his pace quickened and they rounded the side of the hill where they discovered a bloodied, unmoving body left to lie in a heap on the damp forest floor. 

Kingsley quickly crouched down and reached to feel for pulse, but Ted’s unseeing gaze and cooling skin told him they were too late.

“Fuck, Dora is going to be devastated,” Remus ran a hand through his greying sandy locks. “I can track them, we can kill the unit that did this,” he growled, temper rising so much faster than usual. 

“Don’t be daft, Remus. We need to get Ted back to his family and report on this activity. We need to find the others on the run and arrange a new safe house, they can’t keep going like this,” Kingsley argued reasonably. 

“You do that, I’m going after them,” Remus’ gaze was near-feral with rage, growling at his colleague when he stood in his way. 

“So you’re going to chase a group of Snatchers by yourself, when Dora could give birth any second now. Do you want your child to lose its father because of one moment of rashness?” he pressed his hand into the werewolf’s chest but didn’t push, knowing it wasn’t wise to challenge his outright.

“So I should just sit back and let Voldemort kills us all?” Remus snarled, realising only too late his mistake at speaking the name.

They only had a moment to react so Kingsley pushed him toward the body and activated the emergency portkey, trying to get them back to the Tonks’ residence. He could feel the tug of the portkey on his hand but an Impedimenta blasted him away from Remus and Ted, and he watched them disappear with a flash of light before a group of five snatchers started closing in.

* * *

His knock on the back door of the Tonks property in Somerset was soft, his body leaning heavily against the doorframe to support his weight and broken ribs. He expected Remus to open the door, hoping to see the his friend arrived safely back to the safehouse, but instead was faced with the Mistress of the house herself. 

“Thank Merlin, we were worried. They did a number on you,” was all she said and helped him inside, seating him on the bench on the kitchen, forcing a grunt of discomfort from him as he supported his side with his arm.

“It took a few apparitions to lose them,” he admitted, carefully peeling his blood-soaked cloak off his shoulders.

“Don’t, you’ll make it worse,” Andromeda simply flicked her wand and his top half was divested off his shirt, revealing a multitude of bruises and lacerations. “Just try to sit still,” she instructed and set down a chest with her healing arsenal onto the table.

Kingsley’s shoulders relaxed a fraction, now that he was in the safety of the familiar home.He still couldn’t believe that Ted was dead. Dora must be absolutely crushed, and at such a difficult time as well, with all the worries about the upcoming birth and the escalation of the war.

Nymphadora Tonks was a woman one couldn’t possibly forget. Sure she was clumsy, and her good and friendly Hufflepuff nature were something that was not often seen in the predominantly male-populated Auror department, but her tenacity, excellent common sense and decision-making had MadEye quietly pleased. Kingsley could tell by the slight tick of his brow when he saw Tonks best half of her class during duel practice. Gods, MadEye’s death on the eve of Harry’s birthday had been another blow to both himself and Dora.

It was back in the year when they both joined the Order of Phoenix that he was introduced to the rest of the Tonks family. Ted Tonks, bless him, was a decent man from what he could tell and the way he gravitated to his wife was clear to see. The Tonks household was a happy one despite the troubles ahead. Though not officially part of the order, the Tonks' allowed for their home to be used by the order members as a safe house, and supported their daughter’s part in the fight against Voldemort.

On that first ever visit to the Tonks household, Ted apparently mistook the dinner visit for his daughter introducing a beau and asked about his intentions towards her. Kingsley suppressed his mirth at his partner’s horrified expression as he explained that he truly had no interest in someone 13 years his junior. In many ways she reminded him of his late sister Cassie, a star shining brightly with her optimism even during dark times. It wasn’t Ted who left the most lasting impression on his that night though. Instead a whole new galaxy entered his life unexpectedly, for there was no other way to describe Andromeda Tonks, no matter how much he tried.

They say it takes one to know one, and in their case it was doubly true. Not only did they immediately recognise the legacy of an upbringing as part of the Sacred Twenty-eight in each other’s manner. More than that they had both rejected the expectations placed on them by their families and commanded their own destiny, and not many pureblood had the gumption to face disinheritance and social shunning like Andromeda did. He left the Tonks household with deep respect for its Mistress, and with her warm words reassuring him that friends of Dora’s were always welcome in their home.

He visited often over the last three years, to visit Dora and Remus who were both currently residing in the Tonks home. He would lie if he said he didn’t cherish his time discussing law, politics, healing, and strategy with Ted and Andromeda during some of his visits as well. His respect for them both continued to grow, until he realised it wasn’t just respect he felt when looking at the patrician beauty and admiring the spark in her hazel eyes and the way her smile and laughter highlighted the crowsfeet only just beginning to fan around her eyes despite her being five years his senior.

Not that he would ever act on his feelings, he had too much respect for the happy couple and he doubted Andromeda would ever see him as anything other than a family friend. Enjoying her company was more than enough for him with everything else going in his life.

He hissed as her cool hand pressed against his ribs, assessing the damage by feel as well as the readings of her diagnostic spell. She was but a breath away from his face and up close he could see the just how pale she was, the grief deepening the lines in her face.

“Really, I can tend to myself, you should be with-“

“No,” she interrupted his words before he could say her husband’s name. He could see the quiver of her chin before she gritted her teeth and swiftly finished bandaging him up, helping him into a spare jumper from the change of clothes he always carried shrunk in his pocket. “I’ll get you some soup, and then you should rest,” she tried to pull away but he gently took her hand in his.

“I’ll be fine, it’s you I’m worried about. I’m so sorry, Medea,” he said softly, the familiar nickname slipping out before he could stop it. 

Her throat tightened and eyes filled with tears at his soothing voice, her emotions finally taking a hold of her as her shoulders shook with suppressed sobs. She didn’t resist this time as he pulled her close into his chest, allowing herself to let the tears fall. She tried, really tried to stay strong for Dora and to keep it together, but the image of Ted’s unseeing eyes and bloodied form would haunt her until the end of her days. 

“What am I going to do…and Dora…she had contractions…Remus is with her…” she ended up choking on the words as she tried to explain everything that was going on in her mind.

“Shhh,” Kingsley hushed her gently and wrapped both his arms around her, instinctively smoothing down her wild chestnut curls, as he had seen Ted do many times to calm her. “Remus is with Dora. Just let go, I’ll stay with you,” he promised.

And she did. She couldn’t stop if she wanted to, the loss of her best friend, her lover, her partner crippling her so hard she felt the sharp stabbing pain in her chest, the bond they created with their marriage vows severed so violently. She felt him pick her up and tried to protest against it as his ribs were barely healed, but he carried her a short distance to the living room sofa and set her down beside him, holding her carefully into his side as she tried to calm down. 

Everyone in the Tonks household felt Ted’s loss in their own way this night. Kingsley only hoped that perhaps one day, the mention of the man would bring fond memories instead of the pain of grief to them all.

**31st October 2000**

The silence of the cool evening was broken by the crack of apparition, his steps on the grey gravel the only sound other than the haunting cawing of the crows. He pushed open the heavy wrought-iron door and walked to the East wall of the mausoleum, the one he visited every year around this time.

He reached out to gently caressed the gold letters carved into the pale marble.

_Cassiopeia Shacklebolt_

_Beloved daughter and sister_

Cassie had been his first love, and his first great loss. He was about to start Hogwarts when she caught Dragon pox and her nine-year-old body struggled only shortly before she was taken from his world. He couldn’t comprehend why, and how he was supposed to go on when all that remained of his sister was a stone on the wall of the family mausoleum. 

He could still recall the anger that swelled within him at the short words. His Cassie had been so much more than just a daughter and sister and her loss created a hole in his chest that remained with him for weeks and through both his sorting and first few days at Hogwarts. And then he discovered a way to feel close to her again. His telescope was nothing but a heavy nuisance when he bought it, and yet after that first week at school, it became his lifeline. Every Thursday evening, he would set it up on his desk for his upcoming lesson, and turn it up to look at the bright W of his five brightest stars of constellation Cassiopeia. He always thought they looked like wings, and perhaps that’s where his Cassie’s soul went, to be with the other stars and shine so brightly. It was the only way he could make sense of her being gone at that age. 

His hand raised up to his chest, pressing momentarily to his left pectoral before reaching up to press against the cool marble. “I’ll see you in a few months again, little sis,” he promised and cleared away the dried flowers from his last visit before arranging her favourite yellow roses into the vase attached to the wall beside her resting place.

With a final melancholy smile, he left the mausoleum and apparated to his next stop. The air in the Welsh valleys was always different from anywhere else in Britain, but for some reason the Abergavenny Old Cemetery felt almost comforting. The air more humid and warmer, the last of the rain that only just stopped still clinging to the lanterns and leaves of flowers left behind by visitors past. He walked up the path towards the corner where a small family plot was separated from the surrounding gravesby a low hedge. The remaining bouquets in his hold were laid across the three graves lined next to each other, all still only a couple years old. Ted Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus John Lupin. He noticed the beautiful red and orange chrysanthemum in the small vases on the headstones, a sign that they already had their first visitor earlier.

He could never bring himself to say much, but for some reason he felt drawn to Ted’s grave this evening. He crouched down, looking at the beautiful marble headstone and sighed. “I know you were the love of her life. You still are, and always will be, I suspect. But I promise to cherish her if she lets me,” he said softly, the deep basso of his voice quiet in the deserted cemetery.

With his promise made, he left through the side gate and apparated to his third and final destination for the evening. 

* * *

She trailed her fingers up firm pectoral, entranced by the contrast of her pale skin against the dark planes of his chest. He was so very different from her Ted. The young man she fell in love with grew into a kind, compassionate and brave man who gave her a safe home and a new family when nearly everyone she knew left her lift in a flurry of hissed insults and ugly glares. He had been her one, or so she thought. The memory of Ted's handsome, loving smile would always be the dearest thing in her heart. All she had left of her family now was little Teddy but she counted herself lucky to also have this man as her constant.

Once she thought they were just raised moles but upon closer inspection it was clear to see that they were actually little inked dots, forever marking the skin stretched over his steadily beating heart. She couldn’t really tell what they represented, but her lips traced the raised pattern affectionately, feeling a bit more like herself after so many months without the touch of another. 

“Will you tell me what these mean?” she asked softly, voice still a little hoarse from their earlier cries of pleasure.

“Soon,” he promised, squeezing the soft hand that now rested over the two constellations inked into his skin.

Ever since Kingsley could remember, his life has been ruled by the stars. Cassiopeia and Andromeda represented his past and his present, and he hoped the woman in his arms will one day agree to be his future.


End file.
